Disclaimer: In this chapter I will use italics to refer to text messages.
I DO NOT OWN VICTORIOUS OR ANY OF THE ORIGINAL CHARACTERS OF THE SHOW.
Chapter 4: Old solutions to old problems
And there I was, approaching the table where Andre and his friends were having lunch, and for someone who was famous for always finding an answer, I was as nervous as I had ever been in the past year. I didn't like asking for forgiveness, and that is something I've always had, not a cocky trait I developed since reaching stardom. Saying sorry implied that I had made a mistake, and I didn't like making mistakes. I just felt that everything was better if I was always being perfect, be it on the field, on a shoot or in my daily life.
I felt pretty uncomfortable, something that was getting pretty common on my first day of school. The thing that was bugging me was that I felt that no matter what I did or said next Cat would end up forgiving me because people like me got their way in everything they did, I'm sure that seems great, but it didn't really fit in with the "do the right thing" style I, for some reason, had imposed onto myself.
So when I sat down on their table, everyone went silent and I knew it was going to be bad, Cat was afraid of looking me in the eyes but Jade and Tori were throwing daggers at me with their look. Next to Jade was a pretty good-looking guy, and next to him another guy with a… puppet? Anyway, I decided this tense silence wasn't doing me any favors so I decided to start talking.
"So… I think you can imagine why I'm here…" I started hesitantly.
"Yeah, to give Cat her damn autograph." Snapped Jade. This wasn't going to be easy.
"Actually… that's not true." I heard the whole grunt with exasperation, while Cat let out a small sob, and I decided to explain myself before anyone could interrupt me. "Can I explain it to you? When I came here this morning, I wanted to be seen as a normal guy, not the kind of stuck up dude who gives autographs left and right and lives as a high school celebrity. Then I met Tori, Andre and Cat and all of you seemed like the kind of people I would want to hang out with. So that's I have decided to act normal around you guys. See? At the end of the day I'm just a normal guy who wants to be part of a normal group of friends. What do you say?"
"I buy that." Said Andre, who was the one really helping me out with this.
"I guess I'm cool with it." Said the guy sitting with Jade.
"Well… if things are like that… I don't see why you shouldn't hang with us." Replied Tori.
The guy with the puppet and Jade didn't say anything, not that they needed to, as it was quite obvious that they weren't quite fond of me. Still, the majority of the people at the table had no problem with me being in the gang so that made me happy, I really wanted to make new friends, but I'd only hang with them if Cat forgave me. "Well, I appreciate that guys, but is Cat here the one who I've hurt so I really want to know if she would forgive me. Would you Cat?" The next few seconds felt like an eternity to me, as I anxiously waited for her response. My initial worries dissipated as I saw her face lit up with excitement.
"Yay! Friends!" And I couldn't help but smile.
"Well so since it looks like you are going to be one ours, why don't you tell us a bit more about yourself? Maybe something that doesn't hit the magazines…" Started Tori.
"Yeah, like why actually are you here?" Continued Tori with her trademark aggressiveness.
"Well for starters I've always loved warm weather. Also, I love the beach and the Ocean, something that I don't get to enjoy much in Canada."
"But you didn't move away from your home just to have better weather didn't you?" Said the kid with the puppet.
"Well no, of course not. I also had other more professional reasons if you want to call them that. I know that if want to be treated seriously as a prospect I needed to play against better teams to show that my stats aren't product of a system and that I'm just not beating up on bad teams. Also, my private coach also lives here so I can work with him the weekends I'm not visiting colleges around the country."
"And wasn't it hard to leave all of your family and friends behind and move all the way to another country just to prove that you can play?" Asked Tori.
"Yeah it was definitely hard at the beginning but it's what I had to do. You have to understand that this is literally my life; I can't envision myself in a future in which I'm not a NFL quarterback, so it was something that had to be done. Besides, living alone at 16 in L.A. has its advantages, you get to explore and find out if every cliché about SoCal is true?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"See, I know that you might not know this if you've spent all of your life but to the rest of the world Los Angeles is like a place where everything is possible, maybe it is because of Hollywood but this is supposed to be the place where you can achieve everything you set your mind to. Everybody is supposed to be way cooler and girls are much hotter in theory."
"And is that theory true?" Said Jade suggestively.
"I'd have to say that yeah to that." I tried to answer as cool I as could. Just as that awkward moment happened the bell rang and I it was thankfully time to go to class. The rest of the day was quite uneventful, or maybe it was action-packed but I didn't really pay much attention to anything that wasn't Cat. She had me hooked, everything she did, every movement, every word, all the little things she probably did without knowing were entering my heart like the sweetest poison ever invented.
I knew the situation could get out of hand so the moment I got to my apartment I did the same I always do when I start to freak out over a girl, text Mary and April.
Mary and I have been very close for years and have gone through a lot. She was extremely hot and always had a lot of boys drooling for her, which made her a perfect friend for these types of situations. What wasn't so perfect is that before I got famous she didn't really seem very interested in people knowing we were friends. The moment I became the #1 prospect in the world she became more interested in taking pictures with me for her social than she had ever before, and that was a major red flag for me. I knew I was going to meet my fair share of fake people with my newfound fame; I didn't need the few people who I had before changing with it. Anyway, I left those thoughts for a moment and texted her about my situation:
AD17: Heeey! :)
Snowmary5: Hi hotshot qb! How is school going in the land of the movie stars? Anyone interesting I may need to know about? ;)
AD17: That's exactly what I want to talk about
Snowmary5: Wow… you've got California girls falling at your feet already?
AD17: Not exactly that, maybe the opposite tbh
Snowmary5: WHAT?!
AD17: There's this girl at school that has left me star-struck. I think I might like her
Snowmary5: So? What's the problem? Just go hang with her!
AD17: It's not that easy… I don't know if she'll like me…
Snowmary5: Dude you're Allen freacking Dexter. There are pictures of you without your shirt on in every other shop from Milan to Hong Kong. And I'm pretty sure you've already seen your face a couple times on L.A.
AD17: Yeah, and?
Snowmary5: When was the last time you met a girl who wasn't interested in you?
AD17: You already know that answer.
Snowmary5: Oh yeah, right before you became a jacked up millionaire model who's probably going to be a professional athlete in 5 years. Yeah, chicks dig you way more now that you are cool and have a six-pack, stop crying about that.
AD17:Anyway… maybe it's better if we don't touch that subject again… What would you do with her?
Snowmary5:Allen you know how I am. I would take her in a couple dates and try to make out with her as much as possible for two weeks before moving on to the next tanned, hot girl you can get walking through Beverly.
AD17: Yeah that's totally what YOU would do. You know I like more serious relationships. Besides, she doesn't look like the type who'd be okay with that.
Snowmary5: And why is that relevant?
AD17: Because I don't want to be the "Hollywood heartbreaker" before even the season starts.
Snowmary5: Dude I can't understand why you are like this. You're young, rich, famous and hot. Besides, you are going to stay there for little more than a year and then you are not going to see any of those people ever again. Why don't live to the fullest?
AD17:Because when you become young, rich, famous and hot overnight you suddenly realize loyalty is one of the best qualities anyone can have ;)
AD17: Anyway, I'll keep talking tomorrow. Bye!
Snowmary5:Bye!
To tell you the truth not a single thing that happened in that conversation surprised me. I knew Mary would take "Carpe Diem" and stretch it to its most extreme point, as she did with every situation. But right now I was getting tired of the late night drunk hook-ups with models and such. What I needed now was someone to be my life companion, someone who would travel with me trough this long and hard road that I had chosen to travel, someone who could fill the void created by leaving all my past life behind in order to live my "American dream", and most of all, by the absence of April.
Let me tell you about April. We got really close right before the "explosion" as I like to call it. She's probably the nicest person I have ever met, and while she wasn't scolding hot like let's say Jade or Mary, which doesn't mean she wasn't attractive, because she is, she captivated me with her cuteness and her aura of innocence, much like Cat (sensing a trend here?). Overtime we realized that we made each other's life extremely more comfortable and we hadn't ever had someone like each other. For her it was because I was the first guy she'd ever had given an opportunity and for me because I never had such a plain awesome and great girl. So yeah, we were falling for each other, at least I was, pretty hard. I always joke that she was the hardest hit I've ever taken… Anyway, the thing didn't end up working because she's always been very shy and discreet, never wanting attention and the spotlight. And attention and spotlight was something I was getting more and more with each passing day and the worst thing about it is, that besides needing it to get attention from bigger schools, I loved every minute of it. Also, she wanted to get into med school, and judging by the amount of time my older sister, who just graduated from it, had to spend studying, I knew it was impossible she could be there to take away the pressure you have when you are a starting quarterback in the SEC.
But that didn't stop us from having a great relationship, after all, she was one my favorite persons in the world and I knew I could trust her with anything.
AD17: AD here!
EndlessApril: Hi AD! :) You up to anything?
AD17: You know… just your typical AD problems
EndlessApril: I'll take a wild guess and say you've met a girl
AD17: How can you ALWAYS be right?
EndlessApril: What can I say… It's what I do ;)
AD17: And know you're stealing my catchphrase? You're very lucky to be you know… *you*, I would sue anybody else
EndlessApril:I know :)
AD17: Anyway… I don't know how to act with this girl
EndlessApril:And you want MY advice? *laughs* I would help if I could, by I think Mary has much more experience in this things than I have, which in turn is not really difficult…
AD17: Already talked to her… She wants me to use her for some time and then move on, just like she does. You know I'm not like that so that's why I asked you.
EndlessApril: Don't worry I'm sure the great Allen Dexter will figure something out.
AD17: I have to, it's my only choice.
AD17: btw I still thing nicknaming yourself "EndlessApril" when you are 5'1 is ironic to say the least.
EndlessApril:Ahahaha shut up you idiot :*
AD17:If only I had a dollar for every time you've called me an idiot…
EndlessApril: It'd still be less than what you're making by modeling ;)
AD17: You sure? I think it might be closer than you think…
EndlessApril: I have NOT called you an idiot 2.5 million times this past year!
AD17: Again, you sure? It might be close… :*
EndlessApril: Let's leave this alone, I have to sleep, and you should too, I'm pretty sure tomorrow you need to be rested for your training session, or your playbook study or whatever things you elite quarterback recruits do.
AD17: Ahahahah yeah right, I almost forgot how much of a sleepyhead you were. Anyway, sweet dreams and good night cutie :*
EndlessApril: *blushes* Good night AD :*
Yeah so that conversation was interesting to say the least, although again, I wasn't really surprised by anything said. On one hand I know I have to kill those spurts of extreme affection with her if I ever want my focus to shift over to Cat, something that might not be that easy as it seems given how much we are missing each other, or I am. On the other hand, I'm very excited to get back to school tomorrow to see her again, so I guess that bodes well for me.
I can't wait for tomorrow.
